Last August, a few of us decided to meet up for a few pints the night before we faced Kerry in the All-Ireland semi-final. In doing so, an open invite to other like-minded souls was issued from here on the site. We gathered in Bowe’s pub on Fleet Street in the centre of town for the event and it turned out to be an enjoyable evening (well, I thought so at any rate) even if the result the following day went against us.
We have, of course, another big Croke Park match facing us this coming Sunday and so, having canvassed opinion on the matter, I’m happy to announce that another one of these events – also at Bowe’s (which is here) – has now been fixed for this coming Saturday night, with throw-in around 9pm or a bit after. If you’re at a loose end that evening and fancy engaging in some pre-match Mayo GAA chatter over a few beers, then this could be as good a place place as any to do it.
Mighty! I’ll be there for the singsong with john c! “far away from the land of the shamrock and heather…”
You owe me a pint from the last time Willie Joe or was it a certain Journalist from south mayo
I’m not sure which of us it was but we’ll definitely get you sorted on Saturday night!
John c might have to bring John B with him! Should be fun.
Any word on the team. Heard it was going to be named tonight after training
I see Breheny is up to his usual old shyte in the indo again today. Another article probably written over the winter when there was no gaa on with a few sentences edited now to suit the week that’s in it. There’s nothing like tossing in the usual old tired cliches when you’re too lazy to do any actual journalism, eh?
checkin nearly alll night
but no sign of team for sunday
Frank Roche of the Heddled had another condescending piece of crap. Seems we have the knack of tripping the odd big gun every so often according to Frank Westmeath. 3 league finals , 2 senior finals, 2 U21 finals , 3 Minor finals since 2004 makes us serial trippers. Ah let’s compare our record to Kildare, Meath, Laois, Donegal…of course that would entail journalistic in depth research. Handier to stick to cliches and crap.
Special apologies to anyone I offend with the above comments especially from my own tribe. Also I managed to write a full paragraph and a half without using the number 60… Oops
Less of the sniping John, that’s not nice. See house rule #26, sub-section C. 😉 🙂 etc
I agree completly with John on this one same old cliches. The amount of negative press Mayo get in the nationals it’s no wonder the lads would have a complex.
Can we not have a positive article on our progress?
In all seriousness I’d have to agree – that article from Breheny is a tired old rehash that’s been done countless times before. Stinks of lazy journalism. He couldn’t be bothered to actually look at this Mayo team on it’s own merits.
But the only way to change the likes of him is to give him no choice, and the first step to that is to win on Sunday!
Himself and Eugene Mc Gee should be locked up in some retirement home where they can peddle lines of nonsense to eachother.
Note the shift over the past 12 months from being chokers to being one hit wonders. Ah sure tis progression I suppose
I’m only joking Tubberman. The past is the past. Onwards and upwards on Sunday.
We need to be careful not to be too thin-skinned about those articles. I’ve just read both (for those who haven’t seen them, Martin Breheny’s is here and Frank Roche’s is here) and I couldn’t find anything objectionable in either of them.
Breheny simply makes the valid point that we have a very poor record where it comes to winning finals at Croke Park. While we may not like to read statements such as “suspicions Mayo are incapable of winning finals in Croke Park will continue until they win one” we can’t really argue against what he’s saying because the facts back him up. If Breheny had really wanted to stick the boot in, he could easily have added all the minor and club losses to the list but, to be fair to him, he didn’t. Frank Roche’s piece, which is based around several quotes from John Casey, deals specifically with our topsy-turvy league form this year and doesn’t mention our poor record in finals at all.
When it comes down to it, I wouldn’t in any event get too exercised about what’s written by us. What’s important for us now is that the team do the talking for us on the pitch this coming Sunday. If that happens, what’s written about us will fall into line accordingly.
WJ my master etc, It’s Roches tenor I object to, the inference we are giant killers rather than a team with a modicum of form I.e in the last 3 years 2 Connacht titles, 2 league finals. In that time the then All Ireland champs have been beaten in both league and c/ship (cork) and Dublin and Kerry in league. That’s not “tripping” that’s consistency and reasonable form unlike teams this guy genuflects to, mainly from Div 2. Sorry WJ, smile smile wink
I’m not so sure about that, John – I’ve just read his piece again and I can’t find anything objectionable from a tenor point of view in what he’s written. Also, the article concentrates solely on our form so far in this league campaign which he (correctly) says has been a bit up and down.
Less lazy journalism would involve developing a table of all counties showing how many counties got teams to finals in Croke Park and the subsequent success rate when they go there.
However, that would involve a bit of actual work and it would show that we actually get to finals more than most. Of course, that wouldn’t prove the point of the article.
For example, how many All Ireland Finals and Division 1 league finals did Cork contest in the last 15 years (1997-2012)? What was their success rate? Played in 8 won 4 – 50% success rate
How about Mayo? Played in 6, won 1 – 16.6% success rate.
How about Kildare? Played one (1998), 0% success rate. Oh shit, are they not playing in a final on Sunday too? Is there a story there? Of course not, they are only a hop of a ball from winning the All Ireland!!!
I have to laugh at how the 2001 League title was dismissed as it was against Connaught opposition.
HELLO MARTIN!!!!! Who won the All Ireland in 2001? Oh yeah, it was a Connaught team. The very one we beat in the League Final a few months earlier! Still think it doesn’t count?
This is only getting my blood pressure up. The only way to shut these gobshites up is to stuff it down their throats in Croke Park next Sunday.
Keep the Faith!
Well said Fourgoal. That was the part that got me puzzled. The fact we haven’t beaten a non-Connacht team in a final since etc etc.
Does Connacht not count anymore, have we really fallen that far behind those all conquering sides from Leinster, like Kildare and Longford (the new great white hopes of the press)?
They must be gutted that we did actually beat Galway that year. At least if we lost they could say how we haven’t won a final in 40 years or whatever. But sure that one win doesn’t count anyway as it was only against that years All Ireland champions.
His piece was a simpe cut and paste job from our previous final appearances.
I barely take any notice of these articles any more, I find them amusing more than anything. If I want to read a proper preview or match report I go to the locals or to this site.
Can’t see anything wrong with either of those articles. You nailed it squarely on the head WJ.
“When it comes down to it, I wouldn’t in any event get too exercised about what’s written by us. What’s important for us now is that the team do the talking for us on the pitch this coming Sunday. If that happens, what’s written about us will fall into line accordingly.”
PS: I’m heading up from Galway tomorrow afternoon. On my own. Might take car if any one interested in sharing some costs otherwise will probably bus it? Anyone interested ? Apologies WJ but i don’t have your mailing list.
Update – that should have read Saturday afternoon, not tomorrow. Apologies.
Breheny’s a Galway man. Fuck him, he was predicting our relegation before we played Dublin. I cannot suffer him.
WJ, it’s not that there are any factual errors in the article, it’s just the usual negative angle that irritates. You can bet that if Galway were playing rather than us you wouldn’t be hearing about their dire record in Croker in the last 10 years, it would be about how their young guns are ready to rekindle former glories or some similar shyte.
Some teams are built up on a pedestal for no good reason, it seems to be fair game to verbally kick us into submission again and again. Breheny is one of the worst journalists for blindly following assumed stereotypes and it’s certainly not solely with regard to Mayo by any means. He seems to just be a poor quality journalist unfortunately.
Its hard to take the constant drum beat. But in fairness its the truth and yes it hurts.
The average Joe ( no not brolly) can be forgiven for thinking ,as I did to be honest that Kerry would probably beat us in HQ the last day isnt that what usually happens? The same joe is probably thinking that Cork will do for us the next day that too has a familiar ring Remember ’99 Phillip Cifford – “go on Phil boy” I had night mares about him. or Corkery in’93 and the 5 15 to 10 pts was that our first real mauling in croker. the FF to 2010 and I for one know where your average man in street gets his ideas from and I hope and pray and yes believe that Mayo will continue to put about some alternative ideas and when they think Mayo football they will be reminded of 2012 caus thats what usually happens.
Any bets on a draw or would it go to extra time another game might not do them harm
I agree with Willie Joe – we shouldn’t be too thin-skinned about the criticism. In fact to foster good relations I think Breheny,Roche,McGee & Co should be invited to Bowes on Saturday night where we can all down pints and engage in some constructive debate about the current state of Mayo football. Following on from that if those respected journalists do not respond to our reasoned arguments and change their attitude – – -then it may be necessary to take them outside and bate the livin shite outta them. (You might allow me a little bit of “poetic licence” there, WJ – in order to avoid breaking a house rule!) With regard to Bowes, WJ – will that be casual, formal or fancy dress or will we come as we are?? On a more serious note I am dissappointed that I wont be able to make that venue on Sat night – it would be great to meet a few old faces and better again to meet a few new faces and also putting faces to some of the names on this site. However I have been enlisted to help out in bringing up 40 under 14s from the local club by coach on Sunday morning. Hopefully there will be another day out in August or Sept and we will give Bowes a rattle then. Keep up the good work WJ – – your blog is not only a humorous,thought-provoking,intelligent site it is also an avenue to meet new friends. John Cuffe-dont be always rabbitting on about your age – sure you are only as old as the woman you feel and in that scenario you are not 60 at all yet! Up the Green and Red.
John has a good 13 years on your man who scored the winning goal in that London hurling match! He’s positively underage!
It’s no good being thin-skinned, in football or in real life. But we’re still entitled to certain standards of journalism and Martin Breheny’s piece is rubbish.
Breheny’s piece is rubbish because it doesn’t compare like with like. An All-Ireland final is not like a League Final. But if he just looked at League finals, he wouldn’t be able to write his Mayo’s Tortured Psyche piece. Not on 2007, 2001 and 1972. I didn’t even know they were in a League final in 1972. To say a League Final is the same as an All-Ireland senior football final just isn’t true.
It’s no good being thin-skinned but it’s also no good in reading anything Breheny writes. The odd time I’ve wasted a couple of mins of my life reading one of his pieces they generally are puff pieces throwing up the same old stereotypes with little or very shallow insight and riddled with mistakes , so I just don’t bother I find most of what I need to know about Mayo football with a combination of this blog , Mayonews and An Spailpin Fanach.
Back to the positives will try I drop into Bowes on Sat night been a long time reader of this blog and it would be nice to put some faces to the names on here.
Samuel Maguire…looking in my file again!!
If we lose Sunday please don’t meet up in Bowes before the next big game we play in Croker ?
“the at times ghoulish fascination that attends Mayo appearances in major finals at GAA Headquarters.”
^ Love this line from the GAA.ie preview.
Liam O’Neill also announced that former All-Ireland winning manager Eugene McGee will chair a new, independent gaelic football review group, to examine and study issues in gaelic football. Mr O’Neill says the appointment of Mr McGee will guarantee the independence of the new group.
“I’m looking for them to look at football independently and we’ve picked a hugely independent and widely respected figure in Eugene McGee to do that,” Mr O’Neill told GAA.ie.
“I’m really heartened that he said yes to me. When people see that he is in charge of it they’ll know that we’re taking it seriously and that it will be independent and that we’ll take on board whatever the group comes up with.”